Summer videos

The rainy season arrives on a cannonade of lightning as surrounding hills
turn to jungle and children of all ages, cooled and cleansed by spirited
showers, dance on glistening streets…

An occasional summer storm floods three arroyos in Álamos with mountain runoff.

Summer is the rainy season. Occasional tropical storms, remnant of hurricanes,
come in from the Sea of Cortez to the west. This is the morning after a storm
hit the region hard the previous evening.

A summer rodeo – music concert with trained horses dancing the two step.

Throughout the summer there are activities to enjoy in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico.
On this day the rodeo came to town along with a Mexican pop singer who was
backed up by the local “Halcon de la Sierra” band. The stars of the show,
which started late, were the dancing horses.

To the east, the Cuchujaqui River is a nearby Álamos summer getaway.

The Cuchujaqui River is to the east of Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. Three
arroyos join together in Álamos and flow to the Cuchujaqui River, on
to the El Fuerte River and ultimately the Pacific Ocean. It is a
cooling retreat for Álamos folks especially in the hot summer.
On this day, Antonio, an Álamos dentist, spear-fished one bass,
a couple of catfish and many carp. A good time was had by all.

Summer is the Álamos season of vibrant color, rains and nights of natural magic and wonder.

Lightening on a warm Álamos summer evening is a show to remember.
The romantic Plaza is a wonderful vantage point. Rolling thunder
punctuates child’s play and lovers embraces.

Daybreak in the Plaza is a quiet song that slowly builds into a symphony.

As the day turns from dark to light watch Álamos come alive. Everyday
is a new start, another challenge, another opportunity. The late
Levant Alcorn is seen collecting bird feathers on his morning walk
around the Plaza de las Armas.

Estudiantina de Álamos performs before a packed Plaza as a film crew captures the event.

It is a big day in the Plaza. A TV crew has come to town and is filming
a music concert. Estudiantina de Alamos, a crowd favorite, is performing.
They will also back up several other acts. The bandstand is surrounded by
adolescent girls and scattered smiling mothers.

Álamos Choirs Practice and Perform

People singing together in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico is a wonderful thing.
It is Universal. It is Timeless. This scene visits a choir of youngsters
practicing on the steps outside Bishop Reyes Cathedral. Next we go inside
the three-tiered Cathedral and enjoy the Church Choir.

The storm has passed, the sun is out, and normal returns.

The September 1996 Hurricane Fausto has passed over Álamos, Sonora, Mexico on
its way to Texas. The rushing waters are receding, We are watching the
Arroyo La Aduana from the Miguel Hildago y Costilla crossing just
west of the Alameda.

In the hearts of many, Álamos is the center of the universe.

Independence day starts early in the morning with a municipal parade
through the town’s colonial center. Álamos school kids, the first high
school in the Californias started here, and the entire city government
take part. In 2010 the students added their own uniformed marching band
to the parade. From children to government, Álamos continues.

This is a Blessed Season for a Multitude of Reasons.

In mid-afternoon the air pressure begins to drop and a stiff wind sweeps
the valley from the west, a storm is coming. Night falls and showers start.
We go from the Plaza to the Alameda and back. The following day the sun
comes out and then is covered by clouds. Kids play and men work gathering
sand in the arroyos. An Álamos summer day can be complex in its
textures and atmospheres.

If ones wants to have fun, one can have fun. And today Álamos is smiling.

Thousands of folks, young and old, gather in the Arroyo La Aduana to
celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day,. Álamos, Sonora, Mexico is hosting
dancing horses and people, music groups and free flowing beer.
1996’s strongest storm passed through in early September. A couple of
weeks later there was still a little water flowing in the arroyos as
Álamos, Sonora, Mexico parties.

Folks from all over the Álamos region gather in the arroyo to celebrate Independence Day.

And the celebration in the arroyo continues. Everyone wants to have a
good time and enjoy the warm sun, brillant blue sky and the murmurs of
running water. There is much to do and see. The party will continue late
into the night under beautiful Sonoran stars. How romantic.

Alameda Summer Rainy Night

It is a rainy summer night in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. It is a quiet
night in the Alameda. Small groups gather, stores and restaurants
are open. Video by Anders Tomlinson and Antonio Figueroa and edited
by Anders Tomlinson. Music are phrases from Denver Clay’s ” Piano Garden.”

Álamos is home to the jumping bean along with elements that touch all the senses.

It is another summer day in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico which calls itself
the “Jumping Bean Capital of the World”. The Mexican jumping bean,
frijoles saltarines, is found in an area approximately 30 by 100 miles
in the mountains of Sonora, Sinaloa and Chihuahua. Today Álamos is wishing
for rain, that afternoon showers begin. This video features the jumping bean,
a drive into town from the west, and several cameos: church bell ringing,
time-lapse of clouds passing in front of Mt. Álamos, and a street puddle
at night reflecting shimmering light. Video and editing by Anders Tomlinson.
Music is “Magic” by SonicAtomics under the direction of Denver Clay
along with the jumping beans.

A Ranch on the outskirts of town, looks forward to the future.

Estancia Crysalis, along the El Camino Real, is a mile southeast of
the Plaza in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. The 140 acre ranch, on Sierra de
Álamos sloping foothills, is focusing on a new day. And new opportunities
gliding on tropical breezes.

Pool maintenance, bicycles and air mattresses on a summer afternoon.

It is a typical late August day in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. It is hot but
not uncomfortable. There are bugs but it is not buggy. We our poolside
as a brother and sister prepare their late mother’s casa for sale. Time
is spent watering, draining, filling, floating on an air mattress and riding
a bicycle around the pool. Life is good. Kit Nuzum makes a cameo appearance.

Alamos Students on Parade – Part 3

This video looks at young students marching with banners that read
“Escuela Prim. Revolucion” and “Álamos.” We are standing outside of
Paulita Verjan #15 and watching the 1996 Independence Parade through
Centro Álamos, Sonora, Mexico which featured five sections of students
as well as the government and medical staff.

Alamos Students on Parade – Part 2

This video looks at students marching with a banner that read
“SEP – Escuela Secundaria General”. We are standing outside of
Paulita Verjan #15 and watching the 1996 Independence Parade
through Centro Álamos, Sonora, Mexico which featured five sections
of students as well as the government and medical staff.
Video by Anders Tomlinson.

Alamos Students on Parade – Part 1

We are standing outside of Paulita Verjan #15 and watching the
1996 Independence Parade through Centro Álamos, Sonora, Mexico
which featured five sections of students as well as the government
and medical staff. This video looks at students marching
with banners that read “Plantel Álamos Colegio de Bachilleres”
and “Paulita Verjan Escuela Secundaria.”

Álamos Government Independence Parade

This video films the government employees, under the leadership of
Dr. M. Alfonso Valenzuela Salido, from two locations: outside
Escuela Paulita Verjan and entering the Plaza from the west.
They were the first group in the Independence Day Parade followed
by students from all the schools. The Hospital staff and nurses
were the last group in the parade. This is September 16, 1996 on
a warm sunny morning in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. There will be
festivals, feasts, parties and more throughout the day and night.

Alamos Summer Country Afternoon 1:17

It is a summer afternoon just west of the Álamos, Sonora, Mexico airport. There are a couple of small group of men, sitting in the shade, listening to music in Arroyo La Aduana. Cows, cow herders, sun, clouds coming and going, dogs and T.J. Cook are cast members in this gentle video. The year is 1996.

A few Summer moments with bird baths and feeders

Álamos, Sonora, Mexico is a wonderful place to watch birds. Birds of
different sizes and hues are everywhere. This video has bird baths
and feeder scenes from just a couple of minutes in a yard on Calle
Galeana, late August 1996. It is a warm morning with a light
breeze to cool the face.

A drive along a vey old road

Calle Francisco I. Madero in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico becomes a
narrow-two-bloc-long-one way street that takes cars east to
Plaza Las Armas and Bishop Reyes’ Cathedral. Calle Madero
is an extension of the highway from Navajoa. On older maps
the street is called Calle Aurora.

Alamos Summer TV Concert

In the summer of 1996 a regional TV crew came to Alamos, Sonora, Mexico
to videotape a live concert from the Plaza’s bandstand. Estudiantina de
Álamos performed and was the backing band for other artists including
an elderly woman and a young boy. A quintet closed the concert after
backing up an Álamos teen girl. The girl’s singing was unfortunately
drowned out by the enthusiastic audience which continued to grow
throughout the afternoon into night. Summer fun in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico.

Somewhere in the mountain
Indian's timeless spell,
framed by stately 18th century
Spanish architecture and
peppered with modern
electronic gadgetry, is a
small quiet town whose
women are beautiful
and men handsome.

This Shangri-La, at
the very end of paved
road from the west,
is Alamos Sonora, Mexico.

Behold ridge after volcanic
ridge, separated by deep
narrow canyons, marching
on for a hundred miles, and
climbing to 10,000 feet
where giant hawks
and eagles soar.

The monumental silence
is all powerful.

Time is reduced to mere
sand, worn off of towering
rock faces and carried
away with the winds.
These endless ridges
conjure up stark silhouettes
of reclining warriors, upon
whose barren stomachs
humble life persists.

Over the horizon, to the
southwest, is the famous
Copper Canyon region.

The eye continues to sweep
the horizon and returns,
as it always does,
to the cathedral's classically
proportioned three-tiered
belfry announcing civilization
on the half hour.

Past, present and future
comes together,in a special
way, as one walks down
hand-swept cobblestone
streets listening to
laughing children behind
bougainvillea-crowned walls.